Jodi Arias penalty phase retrial set for March 17th

(CNN) — The retrial of the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias murder case is set for March, the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona tweeted Monday.

“Jury selection will begin on March 17 in State v Jodi Arias,” the tweet said.

The news comes after a closed-door meeting Monday between prosecutors and Arias’ defense attorneys. The convicted killer is facing a retrial of the penalty phase of her case because the original jury failed to determine whether she should get the death penalty or life in prison. Her first-degree murder conviction for brutally stabbing and shooting her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in 2008 still stands.

There were previous reports of possible plea-deal negotiations, but nothing has come from those talks.

In March, a new jury will be impaneled and asked to decide Arias’ sentence.

According to Karen Arra, media relations director of the Superior Court of Arizona, jury selection is expected to take about two weeks, and the retrial may begin in early April. If jurors sentence Arias to life in prison, ultimately the judge will determine whether it will be life without the possibility of parole or life with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

Arizona state prosecutor Juan Martinez has continued to press for the death penalty and the retrial in this case.

The first jury to hear Arias’ case found her guilty of murder on May 8 and determined that the crime was committed in “a cruel manner,” making her eligible for the death penalty.

In a statement during the initial penalty phase of her case, Arias told jurors she was the victim of abuse from Alexander and that if sentenced to life in prison — rather than death — she could help her fellow inmates by starting a book club and recycling program. But before that, in interviews granted after the guilty verdict, she told local reporters that she would rather be sentenced to death than spend the rest of her life in prison. She later explained that she changed her mind after talking to her family.

While in jail awaiting her trial date, Arias has managed to keep an active Twitter account. She also launched a line of rubber bracelets to raise money for her appeals.

1 Comment

The crime was some unknown combination of self-defense, manslaughter, and murder. She is capable of lying, but it is still hard to say what happened. This is the only person, to my knowledge who looked at the knife wounds as an expert knife fighter